The Oshiwara police believe that one of three conflicts — a property dispute, a business row or a tussle in the housing society — led to the shooting of a 45-year-old businessman near his house on Saturday evening.

Although the police have detained a few people, the killer and the
motive behind the murder are still a mystery.

The deceased, Ijaz Khan, a resident of Millat Nagar in Jogeshwari (West), was shot dead while he was taking a walk. The police said Khan was in the business of importing cutlery from China.

“Although we have not completely ruled out underworld involvement or extortion as the motive, prima facie it appears that the crime was committed over a monetary dispute in his business. He was also a developer, so there is a possibility that a property row could have led to the murder,” said an official from the Oshiwara police station who did not wish to be named.

The third major angle the police are probing is a dispute at Khan’s Millat Nagar housing society that comprises 15 buildings. The official said Khan’s father, Ahmed used to be the secretary of the federation of the society till a year ago.

“After the new secretary came to power, it was proposed that the society be redeveloped. Khan and his father were opposed to this,” said the official.

Khan has a criminal record, with cases registered against him at the Wadala, Sewri and Nagpada police stations, including one for chemical theft for which he was arrested in 2005.

“We have rounded up a few people for questioning, including some who were known to him and those who may have had some enmity with him. There are no leads on the accused yet,” said another official, adding that they are scanning Khan’s cell phone records to get leads. Officials said

Khan had not received any threats or lodged an official complaint in that regard prior to his death.

A post mortem conducted at JJ hospital confirmed that he had died from a firearm injury. The metal lid of the bullet was retrieved and has been sent for a forensic analysis, officials said.